Kingston: 'There's got to be somebody not for SHEP'

Mary Mayle

Thursday

Mar 27, 2014 at 10:16 PM

If you were a fly on the wall at Wednesday's Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill, you would know why there was no money in the president's 2015 budget for construction of the Savannah Harbor deepening project known as SHEP.

It's all about politics.

During a 23-minute discussion of the project, two members of Georgia's congressional delegation - Democrat Sanford Bishop Jr. and Republican Jack Kingston - repeatedly questioned Jo-Ellen Darcy, U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Commander Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick as to why the Corps felt it could not sign off on a Project Partnership Agreement that would put the Savannah port project back on track.

Neither Bostick nor Darcy would say directly that the decision was politically motivated, but neither could offer any other explanation that the congressmen accepted.

Clearly uncomfortable - and clearly not the source of the project's roadblock - both expressed support for SHEP, but referred to "the scope of the mitigation" having changed since the project was originally OK'd in 1999.

"In the view of the administration, we cannot move forward without the Congressional reauthorization contained in the Water Resources Development Act," Darcy said.

That bill, passed by both the House and the Senate, is still working its way through conference committee as differences are reconciled.

Kingston and Bishop disagreed, citing language - authored by Kingston - in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 that removed any legal impediment to federal action on the project.

That bill, passed by Congress and signed by the president in January, clearly allows for the construction funding, they said.

Asked whether the Corps had requested a legal opinion on the matter, Bostick replied, "Not at headquarters level." He then conceded that the Corps' Savannah District had, in fact, requested a legal opinion and was told by their attorneys they could proceed with the partnership agreement - the only thing standing in the way of dredging.

"Do you have reason to doubt your Savannah District lawyers' ability to make this call?" Kingston asked, to which Bostick said, "Absolutely not."

Then, Bishop wanted to know, what was the decision to hold up the project based upon?

"(If) that's not a legal issue, it's a political issue, wouldn't you say?" he asked Bostwick.

"It's not a legal issue," Bostwick responded.

"The administration made a policy decision," Darcy reiterated.

"I just don't get this," Kingston said. "If we're all for this, there's got to be somebody who's not for it, or it would have happened."

A&S Kinard opens office here

A&S Kinard Logistics, a wholly owned subsidiary of A&S Services Group LLC, has opened an office in Savannah, offering a blended solution of truck line, drayage and brokerage.

Savannah is the fifth location for the logistics/brokerage company, which also has operations in New Freedom, Pa.; Alton, Ill.; Baltimore, Md., and Jacksonville, Fla.

Chris Hutto is director of operations for the Savannah office, which will offer temperature control, dry van and flatbed services.

Kevin Ruffo, vice president of A&S Kinard Logistics, said the company's newest operation will hold to the same standards customers have come to expect of A&S.

"We absolutely, without fail, will continue the tradition of integrity, customer service and commitment that our organization has done so perfectly for so many years," he said.

Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.

SHIPPING SCHEDULE

Following are the ships expected to call on Georgia Ports Authority's Garden City and Ocean terminals this week. Schedules are supplied by GPA and are subject to change.

TERMINAL VESSEL ETA

GCT MUSTAFA DAYI Today

GCT APL BELGIUM Today

GCT VARAMO Today

GCT HALIFAX EXPRESS Today

GCT AKRITAS Today

GCT MAERSK VIRGINIA Today

OT GRANDE SIERRA LEONE Today

GCT HANJIN ELIZABETH Saturday

GCT APL ANTWERP Saturday

GCT MSC MELISSA Saturday

GCT CORNELIA MAERSK Saturday

GCT UASC DOHA Saturday

OT SAFMARINE SUMBA Saturday

GCT CSAV LARAQUETE Sunday

GCT LOYA Sunday

GCT MSC ILONA Sunday

GCT MSC DYMPHNA Sunday

OT SALOME Sunday

GCT HYUNDAI GOODWILL Monday

GCT HANJIN MALTA Monday

GCT ST LOUIS EXPRESS Monday

GCT NYK JOANNA Monday

GCT JPO LIBRA Monday

GCT CMA CGM MANET Tuesday

GCT BUXCOAST Tuesday

GCT MOL EXPEDITOR Tuesday

GCT ZIM TEXAS Tuesday

GCT EVER DAINTY Tuesday

GCT CHEMICAL PIONEER Tuesday

GCT OOCL OAKLAND Tuesday

GCT MAERSK MEMPHIS Tuesday

GCT MOL PARADISE Wednesday

GCT STADT GERA Wednesday

GCT VARAMO Wednesday

GCT NORTHERN JUBILEE Wednesday

GCT SHIPPAN ISLAND Wednesday

GCT ST. JACOBI Wednesday

GCT DALLAS EXPRESS Wednesday

GCT HANJIN MONACO Wednesday

OT DORIC SAMURAI Wednesday

GCT CMA CGM L'ETOILE Thursday

GCT MAERSK CAROLINA Thursday

GCT YM SHANGHAI Thursday

GCT ZIM SHANGHAI Thursday

GCT GUANG DONG BRIDGE Thursday

GCT MSC CHICAGO Thursday

OT TYSLA Thursday

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